MUSKEGON, MI – It's official: Muskegon County voters in
November will decide on a $24 million plan to improve Muskegon Community
College facilities, including developing a downtown location.

The college board of trustees on Wednesday approved a Nov. 5
ballot proposal seeking additions to the
science wing and health education facility, a new creative arts facility and an
undefined college facility located downtown.

The proposal is $7 million less than a request narrowly
defeated by voters in November 2012.

In approving the request, the board presented a united front
that college President Dale Nesbary said he needed to effectively pursue the
bond proposal. The board voted 6-0 to approve the proposal with Trustee Sean
Mullally absent but, according to board President Dr. Donald Crandall,
supportive.

The bond proposal will require a 0.38-mill tax increase in
2014. The average tax needed to pay off the bonds over a maximum of 25 years is
estimated to be 0.33 mill, according to the bonding proposal.

Crandall said a "very strong message" sent by the business
community and supporters of the downtown prompted the board to agree to include a
downtown presence in the proposal. There was no such commitment the last time
the proposal was taken to voters, something the board was criticized for,
Crandall said.

"It became clear there was a strong base of support for the
downtown facility," Crandall said.

While it's assumed by some that the downtown facility would
be the new arts center, and at this point that is "No. 1 on our list," Crandall
said it could be some other type of facility. He said the board needs to remain
"flexible" on what sort of program is based downtown. He said it likely would
be supported with "wrap-around" services allowing students to take ancillary courses
there instead of having to travel to the main campus.

Nevertheless, college officials said they are working with a
supportive county bus system to establish a regular route between downtown and
the college campus at the corner of Marquette Avenue and Quarterline Road.

He said some board members wanted to seek a higher bond while
others wanted less, and some didn't think the timing of a November election was
right. In the end, they agreed to a $27 million bond, but later reduced that
after Nesbary said the college didn't need that much, Crandall said. The board took
several straw polls before finding consensus, he said.

He said at that meeting,
there were several people who lobbied for a downtown location, including the president of
the Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce and a downtown business owner who presented
petitions with 50 signatures.

The board ended up agreeing
to build something inside the boundaries of the Downtown Development Authority.
That's a rather broad area, extending from the B.C. Cobb plant on the north, to
just past Cole's Bakery to the south and from Muskegon Lake on the west to as
far east as the Muskegon County governmental complex on Apple Avenue and
including the new Third Street business corridor.

The board also decided against going for a separate
operational millage to support increased costs of operating the new facilities.
On Wednesday, faculty member Toby Moleski told the board he believed an
operational millage was needed to prevent costs from being passed onto
students.

"We have equal concern about putting those on the backs of
students, and debated this on numerous occasions," Crandall told him. "It's the
opinion of the board that at this time, it's not advantageous to do that."

Crandall said after the meeting that the college will find ways
to pay the added costs other than increasing tuition again, which the board
increased this year. Crandall said he expects the investment in the facilities
will bring additional students, and that property values will improve – both of
which will bring more revenue.

This time, voters will have more of a chance to learn about
the college proposal, Crandall said. If voters approve the proposal, the
college will benefit from more than $4 million in state funding for the science facilities.